St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, on Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is June 23rd. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was privileged to receive visions of Christ beginning in childhood. Our Lord entrusted to her the divine mission of establishing the devotion to His Sacred Heart in the world. Criticism did not hamper her enthusiasm, and her charity toward her opponents won them over to her message. The following quotations from the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque show her great love for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

And He [Christ] showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin that made Him form the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which it contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure Him all the honor and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those divine treasures of which His heart is the source. 

— Our Lord to St. Mary Margaret Alacoque

I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

— Our Lord to St. Mary Margaret Alacoque

The Sacred Heart of Christ is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure. 

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This divine heart is an abyss filled with all blessings, and into the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.

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Our Lord Jesus Christ desires that we should, for sanctifying ourselves, glorify His all-loving Heart; for it was His Heart that suffered the most in His Sacred Humanity.

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Choose the divine Heart for your sacred oratory, wherein to offer to God your petitions and prayers that may be pleasing to Him.

Pour out on us, O Lord, the spirit with which you endowed St. Margaret Mary, so that we may come to know that love of Christ which surpasses all understanding.